A Lot Of Catching Up To Do (Part 2)

It had been about three weeks since we had been to our own local flying beach. The weeks we had missed were either rainy or windless so we didn’t miss much. That is to say we didn’t miss much flying. We did miss the time spent with kite friends. So it was with some anticipation that we went to the weekly club fly on Sunday morning. What we found were a couple of fliers, a couple of thousand mosquitos and no wind. I’m beginning to feel cursed. We never left the parking lot. It just wasn’t worth it. So instead of flying, we hung out at the kite shop.

We’re helping get things ready for the Carolina Kite Festival. It’s the local festival sponsored by Kites Unlimited, Atlantic Beach, NC – our local kite shop. It was to be held at the Sheraton Atlantic Beach Resort on the beach. However, there has been a drastic change of plans. The Sheraton suffered major damage due to Hurricane Irene and has had to close their doors and cancel all events until January, 2012. Major headache. After a lot of phone calling, the festival has been relocated to the Atlantic Beach Public Beach Access, locally known as “The Circle”. I’ve been trying to help with Internet changes and making new brochures and stickers for old brochures. I’m not a computer guru but I can try to take some little things off the over-full plates of the kite shop staff. It’s been interesting to say the least. The hardest part will be getting the word out about the change.

We finally got to fly for about an hour each on the following Tuesday and Thursday evenings. The first evening I flew the Dunston-Taylor box delta for the first time on our home field. It flew like a champ. That kite is such a great flier I’m planning on making another with a much more outstanding sail pattern. Not sure what it will be yet but I’m sure I’ll think of something. John put up his early anniversary present, a Captain America Rokkaku by Ray Wong. It is a beautiful handmade kite that he has been admiring for some time. The wind was light but it just hung in the sky. While the two single-line kites were up, I flew my latest dual-line acquisition, a Nebula by Ron Phipps. It’s a wonderful precision kite that is smooth and easy. I love the way it handles. I may actually learn to make push turns with it. Something I haven’t been able to do well with any of my other dual-line stunt kites. The second evening I practised with the Vamp Devil on short fifty foot lines. I was having fun with a rising wind when a family walked by with a little girl maybe three years old. She loved the Devil so I put on a show just for her. Lots of low-level flying that she could see easily. She laughed and giggled and gave the kite commands which I tried to follow. In fact, she was having so much fun she didn’t want to leave. And adult stayed behind with her while the rest of the family continued their walk. I didn’t get much routine practising done but I sure had a good time.

We missed the weekly club fly again. But we did have a legitimate reason.

More later.

Fair Winds All.

A Lot Of Catching Up To Do (Part 1)

Life has been hectic since the last post. And it bothers me that I have left this so long with no updates. I will try to do better in the future. We haven’t been flying much for one reason or another. The first reason is Hurricane Irene. She may have only been a category 1 storm when she passed over our heads but the rains and winds were enough to disrupt our lives significantly. We were lucky in that we had no damage to our property. Although we did have to have three trees taken done to avoid later possible damage. Needless to say, the regular weekly kite fly was canceled.

Right after the clean-up was completed at both houses, it was time to pack up the car and leave for the Mile High Kite Fly at Beech Mountain, NC. This festival was so named because Beech Mountain is 5,506 feet above sea level, the highest town in the state. Saturday is set-up day and a kite builders competition. I decided to take the plunge and enter some of the kites I had built. Hopefully, the judges would be kind and I would pick up some pointers on kite building and competing. I spent a couple of hours Saturday morning attending to details on my kites and getting very nervous about the competition. The judging is done in two stages: in the air ( how will it flies and looks in the sky) and on the ground (how well it is made). I entered four kites in three categories. In the flat & bowed kites, I entered the Penelope Cat della porta and the Green Bay hata. (Side note on the hata – I finished this kite and flew it for the first time on Superbowl Sunday. Need I mention who won Superbowl LXV? Go Packers!!) In the soft & flexible, I entered the Eagle painless parafoil. In the box & cellular, I entered the Dunston-Taylor box delta that I had finished the night before leaving for the festival.

The winds on Saturday were light and variable and the skies were cloudy. Not the best day to show off one’s handiwork. But we do the best we can with what we’ve got. There were a total of none kites entered in the competition. They all flew to one degree or another. I had the hardest time getting the parafoil to fly but once it got up, it flew steady like a champ. There wasn’t quite enough wind for the flat & bowed so it took some work to keep them in the air high enough for the judges to see what they looked like. But we managed. The Dunston-Taylor box is a light wind kite so there was no problem there. The judges’ scores were tallied but the results weren’t going to be announced until the next day. More nervous waiting. I did get some great comments from the judges and a lot of good advice and suggestions. Lots of encouragement to keep on building. And have to admit, it was fun and I look forward to doing it again.

Sunday was the festival day. The day full of flying and kid’s kite-making and kid’s flying up and down the mountainside. But there was no wind. Yes, even less than the day before. But that didn’t seemed to stop the kids. They ran up and down and up and down trying to get their kites in the air. Some brought their own kites to fly and some bought kites from a vendor on site. The clouds became thicker and darker and around one o’clock the skies opened and the rain came down. We were ready to wait it out until there was thunder and lightning. Then the tents came down and the banners were put away and the festival was officially over. It all ended too soon. There was a fliers cook-out later that evening despite the rain. Thank goodness for picnic shelters. At the cook-out, the winners of the kite builders were announced.

I was truly surprised when I found out I won first place in soft & flexible with my Eagle parafoil. I truly thought my competitor’s kite was better but the judges thought otherwise. Hurray for me!!!!! Then I won a second place in flat & bowed with the Penelope Cat della porta. A second Hurray!!! Two awards in my first competition. Pretty good. I’ve started planning for next year.

More later.

Fair Winds All.

Wow! What A Weekend!

I hope everyone had as good a weekend as we did. Ours involved a lot of kite flying time and a lot of time in the sun. Family came down for the holiday weekend but that didn’t deter us from flying our kites. Saturday was family day. We spent time together which was wonderful as we don’t see each other that often. Because it was a holiday weekend, the beach was crowded. Gave us an idea on how to plan for kiting.

Sunday was our regular weekly club fly. The beach was crowded. We got there very late and were lucky to find a parking spot. There were quite a few out-of-town kite fliers there and most of the time was spent visiting and renewing old friendships. Revolutions were up as well as the blue vamp devil. People are trying that kite out and it is winning over new fliers. The light winds made flying stunt kites a challenge. The winds did pick up as the day wore on. There were a lot of single-line kites up. By special request, I flew the three kites I made this spring. My husband finally got his Wala XL together and up. It flew very well and looked great. In fact, there were several Walas in the air. They are made by Flying Wings and are one of the hottest kites this year. The rest of our family spent the time relaxing, swimming and shelling. Despite the heat, we spent about three hours on the beach. Except for a picnic lunch under the trees by the visitors’ center.

Monday was a most spectacular day. The local maritime museum holds Maritime Day on their grounds by the water. Maritime Day is a day to get the public out to see what the museum is all about. They have live music, activities for the kids and the kid in all of us, boat rides and free food. They encourage the public to come out and have a good time. It is really fun. When else would you get a chance to ride in a breeches buoy? Personally, I’d rather ride one here than when my life depended on it at sea. Or make a fish print on a T-shirt? In the midst of all this, the kite club puts as much color in the sky as is possible in a small area. Or rather as much red-white-blue in the sky. Because it is Memorial Day, we try to all fly red-white-blue kites. Of course, other kites are welcome. The only request is that we leave the stunt kites home as there is not much space to accommodate them. Most of our out-of-town kite fliers were there. That made it a fun day. Plenty of chatting as well as flying. The winds started out light in the morning and picked up as the day went along.

The predominate kite was the box delta. Usually with tails or streamers. There was a regular delta, a parafoil, a diamond and a faceted star in the colors the day. Because of the lighter winds, there were also a collection of Wala XLs. They really look good in the sky. Especially when you have a group of them flying together. The best kite of the day, in my humble opinion, was the red-white-blue eagle. I’m not afraid to brag. I managed to get an original Sky Delight eagle kite. Signed and dated by Joel Scholz, I have been saving it just for the Maritime Day fly. It went up right away and hung in the sky the whole time. Well, maybe not the whole time. It did have a couple of altercations with the Uncle Sam della porta but they worked things out and both flew peacefully afterwards.

Only two kites bit the dust this year and both of them belonged to the same flier. The parafoil took a nose-dive into the neighboring brushy trees. It went in so deep into the stand, a person couldn’t get to it. But due to the ingenuity of some members of our group, they used another kite to lift it out of the trees to an area where it could be recovered. It was pretty amazing to watch. And, of course, I didn’t get any photos of the process. However, during the recovery of that kite, another kite line was cut and a box delta took off on its own adventure. Its line snagged on a power pole in the neighboring development on the other side of the field. So it was recovered also. No kites lost and some excitement to the day.

So, after adding another five hours of kite flying and sun to the weekend, it was time to go home. The kite bags are still in the back of the car. And everything needs to be taken out and re-bagged to where it belongs. Especially the lines and the anchors. We can’t find anything. The next special event on our calendar isn’t for a few weeks. I expect I will be starting my next kite sewing project soon. The hardest part will be deciding which one as my list has grown.

Fair Winds All.

Late Report For A Postponed Kite Fly

The Blue Ridge Kite Festival was canceled due to the violent storms that tore through the region. But that doesn’t keep kite fliers from flying for long. The following Sunday there was an informal kite fly for the fliers that came for the festival and for any others who wanted to come out and fly. There were no vendors or music. And there were no crowds. But there were quite a few kite fliers of all ages and competencies and lots of color in the sky. The weather was nice. Cool and sunny with lots of wind. Not too much but very gusty. It made keeping some kites up a little difficult but not impossible.

The park where we flew was simply amazing. Large, large open fields. Room for all kinds of activities, walking trails near the river and a picnic area. The ball fields were away from the open fields so there was no conflict between different activities going on at the same time. Parking was not a problem. Though it probably would have been during the festival. As huge as the park was, it would have been very crowded with the thousands of people who attend. For an informal kite fly, this park was wonderful.

There was a large trilobite kite in the sky when we arrived. And a manta ray joined it for a while. The stunt kite fliers were out in force. Lots of Revolution quad-line kites and several delta dual-line stunters. The sky was filled with deltas and easy flyer kites. There were some custom-made flat kites and several foils and Suttons. John got his orange Sutton up and it just hung in the sky above the field. I attempted to fly the Kokopelli but the winds were too strong and erratic. After a lot of bridle adjustment, I got Penelope Cat up for her maiden flight. I readjusted Pepe’s bridle and tried to fly them side-by-side. It looked more like a fighter kite flight than two della portas. After untangling lines several times, I pulled the those kites down and set them by the car. I also had the pan flute up for a while. It did not like the winds either so It came down, too. Did have the chance to visit with some of the other fliers. Most of which we hadn’t seen since Labor Day of last year. Got a couple of invitations to other kite festivals and competitions in the surrounding areas. So, what does one fly when the single-liners aren’t cooperating? Why, dual line stunt kites, of course.

I put up the six-stack Hyperkites. They danced around in the winds a little but were a blast to fly. when the winds got gusty, they tried to pull me down the field. I wasn’t quite prepared for the pull the first time but I recovered and enjoyed it. At one time, I was pulled out of my flip-flops. I should have known better and worn shoes in the grassy field. I guess I’m too used to flying on the beach. I retrieved my shoe when I landed the stack to catch my breath. It was great. I then tried to fly the Silent Dart. It did not like the gusty winds at all. I kept losing contact with the kite as it bounced around instead of tracking across the sky. This made me uncomfortable so I didn’t fly it for long.

In the meantime, our daughter put up the Trick-n-Track and flew like a champ. She hadn’t flown a stunt kite in over a year but had no trouble remembering how. The Trick-n-Track buzzed in the strong winds and put on a show with a transition tail following along behind. Our daughter loved it and gave us some hints that she may want one of her own. Especially now that they found a place to fly. Our son-in-law flew the Symphony 2.2 for the first time. This is a soft kite that really has some pull. He ended up on his butt several times but always came up laughing. He picked up flying quickly and actually loved being dragged across the grass. We may have created another “kite monster”. I know what the two of them will want to do the next time they come home to the beach.

After five hours in the park, we had enough. Most of the other fliers left to travel home. We were staying an extra day so we could have an evening to rest up. And spend some more time with family. Despite the weather, it was a great weekend. Now we travel home ourselves and clean up the kite gear and get ready for the next adventure.

Fair Winds All.

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